Donald Trump Says He Plans to Travel to China in the Month of April After Discussion with President Xi
Former President Donald Trump has confirmed that he will travel to China's capital in spring and extended an invitation to Chinese President Xi Jinping for a official visit next year, following a telephone conversation between the two heads of state.
Trump and Xi—who met nearly a month ago in Korea—talked about a variety of topics including economic relations, the situation in Ukraine, fentanyl, and the Taiwan issue, as stated by the president and China's foreign ministry.
"Bilateral relations is extremely strong!" Trump wrote in a online message.
Official Chinese media released a statement that indicated both countries should "keep up the momentum, proceed in the right direction on the principle of parity, mutual respect and common gain".
Previous Meeting and Trade Developments
The leaders met in Busan, South Korea in October, subsequently they agreed to a truce on trade taxes. The United States decided to reduce a 20 percent duty by 50% aimed at the flow of the drug fentanyl.
Tariffs stay on products from China and are around close to half.
"From that point, the China-US relationship has generally maintained a stable and upward path, and this is welcomed by the two countries and the international community at large," the Beijing's announcement added.
- America then pulled back a warning of double tariffs on China's exports, while China put off its plan to enforce its latest round of restrictions on rare earths.
Commerce Discussions
The administration's spokesperson Karoline Leavitt commented that the phone discussion with Xi—which took around 60 minutes—was focused on economic issues.
"The U.S. is happy with what we've seen from the China, and they feel the same way," she noted.
Broader Topics
Along with talking about trade, Xi and Trump discussed the topics of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the island.
Xi told Trump that the island's "integration into China" is vital for the Chinese outlook for the "global system after conflicts".
China has been part of a foreign policy clash with Tokyo, a U.S. friend, over the longstanding "strategic ambiguity" on the authority of Taiwan.
Recently, Tokyo's head Sanae Takaichi stated that any Chinese attack on the island could force a Japanese military response.
Trump, though, did not refer to the Taiwan issue in his social media update about the discussion.
America's envoy to Tokyo, George Glass, noted before that the U.S. government stands with Tokyo in the wake of Beijing's "intimidation".
